Do you often find yourself overeating without any specific reason? Turns out that it might be caused by lack of sleep.

A new study has said that sleep deprivation might be the reason behind you feeling munchy most of the time.

This is because, sleep deprivation may boost levels of a chemical that makes eating more pleasurable, which leads to overeating and poor food choices.

According to a report in The Hawk, this chemical signal is endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Blood levels of 2-AG are typically low overnight. They slowly rise during the day, peaking in the early afternoon, researchers said.

The Hawk further reported that this increase in circulating endocannabinoid levels, "could be a mechanism by which recurrent sleep restriction results in excessive food intake, particularly in the form of snacks, despite minimal increases in energy need," researchers said.

The study was published in the journal SLEEP.

Your proximity to a grocery store can actually change the way you eat, according to a recent study.

Living close to a supermarket is something you may associate with an unhealthy lifestyle, but the research has turned this thinking on its head, finding those who live close to the store make healthier food choices.

The foods on the first list are more exclusive in social media feeds of people living in northeastern food deserts, a term used by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to describe communities with limited access to grocery stores. The second list is more exclusive to non-food deserts.

The Georgia Institute of Technology study identified the food choices and nutritional profiles of people living in both types of communities throughout America. It included three million geo-tagged posts on the social media platform where food is king: Instagram.

The researchers found that food posted (and eaten) by people in food deserts is 5 to 17 percent higher in fat, cholesterol and sugars compared to those shared in non-food deserts areas.

Munmun De Choudhury, who led the study, said that the USDA identifies food deserts based on the availability of fresh food. Instagram literally gave them a picture of what people are actually eating in these communities, allowing them to study them in a new way.

"Fruits and vegetables are the biggest difference," De Choudhury said. "Forty-eight percent of posts from people in non-food deserts mention them. It's only 33 percent in food deserts."

Another observation made by the researchers was, irrespective of food availability, people in the US tend to eat the food their region is most known for - steak and coffee in the west, smoked salmon and cheesecake in the east, and okra and biscuits in the south.

The study has been presented at the ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW).

Just as too much of anything is bad, extreme strenuous workouts such as high intensity training could be bad for the heart, warns a new study.

According to researchers, high levels of intense exercise may be cardiotoxic and promote permanent structural changes in the heart.

The research, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, is based on studies that looked into the relationship between exercise and heart problems.

There is already fairly compelling evidence supporting the association between long-term sports practice and increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation -- abnormal heart rhythm characterised by rapid and irregular beating.

"Much of the discussion regarding the relative risks and benefits of long-term endurance sports training is hijacked by definitive media-grabbing statements, which has fuelled an environment in which one may be criticized for even questioning the benefits of exercise," explained study author Andre La Gerche from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

"This paper discusses the often questionable, incomplete, and controversial science behind the emerging concern that high levels of intense exercise may be associated with some adverse health effects," La Gerche noted.

"The answers regarding the healthfulness of 'extreme' exercise are not complete and there are valid questions being raised," La Gerche said.

"Given that this is a concern that affects such a large proportion of society, it is something that deserves investment. The lack of large prospective studies of persons engaged in high-volume and high-intensity exercise represents the biggest deficiency in the literature to date, and, although such work presents a logistical and financial challenge, many questions will remain controversies until such data emege," La Gerche observed.

Researchers argue that before a definitive link between exercise and heart can be made, much more research needs to be carried out.

Nearly five billion people, that is about half the world's population, are poised to become myopic or short-sighted by the end of 2050, indicates a study.

Also called nearsightedness, myopia is a vision condition in which people can see clearly the objects that are close to eyes but objects far away appear to be blurred to the sight.

Acting like a silent epidemic, myopia is all set to become the leading cause of permanent blindness globally

With up to one billion people at an increased risk of blindness, myopia is all set to become the leading cause of permanent blindness globally.

Further, with the findings suggesting that the US will have 260 million myopes by 2050, up from the 90 million in 2000, and Canada will see 66 million high myopes by 2050, up from the 11 million in 2000, the vision loss from high myopia is expected to increase seven-fold from 2000 to 2050.

The rapid increase in the prevalence of myopia globally is attributed to "environmental factors, lifestyle changes resulting from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near work activities, among other factors", said the researchers.

Parents need to ensure that the children's eyes are regularly checked, improve time outdoors and moderate time on near based activities, including electronic devices.

Also, comprehensive eye care services is needed to check the rapid increase in high myopes, along with the development of treatments to control the progression of myopia and prevent people from becoming highly myopic, the researchers suggested in the study published in the journal Ophthalmology revealed.

"We also need to ensure our children receive a regular eye examination from an optometrist or ophthalmologist, preferably each year, so that preventative strategies can be employed if they are at risk," said Kovin Naidoo, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

For those who do meditation regularly, here is another good news. Researchers report that apart from reducing blood pressure and heart disease risk, Transcendental Meditation technique and lifestyle changes can slow cellular death too.

The new study examined what was happening at the level of DNA, showing that the Transcendental Meditation technique increases telomerase gene expression which may contribute to the cardiovascular and aging benefits.

Specifically, this was found to activate two genes that code for telomerase -- which adds molecules to the ends of chromosomes or telomeres -- protecting them from deteriorating.

"The finding that telomerase gene expression is increased with a reduction in blood pressure in a high-risk population suggests that this may be a mechanism by which stress reduction improves cardiovascular health," said Robert Schneider, from Iowa-based Maharishi University of Management (MUM).

Earlier research on the Transcendental Meditation technique found lower rates of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and early death.

For this trial, the participants included 48 men and women with high blood pressure who were recruited and studied at Howard University Medical Center.

Half were assigned to a group that learned the Transcendental Meditation technique and received a basic health education course.

The other half were assigned to a group that focused on achieving significant lifestyle modifications such as weight reduction, reducing salt intake, engaging in regular physical activity and moderating alcohol.

After 16 weeks, both groups showed significant increases in telomerase gene expression and reductions in blood pressure.

"These findings are very encouraging for prevention. They show that both the Transcendental Meditation technique and active lifestyle modification can contribute to heart health," said Schneider, director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at MUM.

"The result is valuable new information, relevant both to cardiovascular disease and to the molecular mechanisms involved in Transcendental Meditation," noted John Fagan, professor of molecular biology in a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE.